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Reposted from DLA Piper’s Sports, Media and Entertainment Blog

By Matt Ganas and Sam Churney

As part of a concerted effort to assess the effectiveness of existing methods of licensing music, the US Copyright Office has published a request in the Federal Register for public comment on a number of copyright issues. This request relates to an ongoing congressional review and a potential overhaul of the US Copyright Act, 17 U.S.C. 101, et. seq. (the “Act”),  in view of technological developments that continue to shape music industry practices in the digital age.  According to the Copyright Office, information gathered during the public comment period will be reported to Congress for consideration of possible revisions to the Act.

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By Erin Wright Lothson

The famous Kardashian sisters are making news again, but this time not for their well-known reality television show Keeping Up With the Kardashians. Kim, Kourtney and Khloe Kardashian launched a line of personal care and makeup products in 2012 under the mark KHROMA, and their beauty care products are currently sold at nationwide retaliers including CVS, Ulta, Sears and Kmart. However, the Kardashian sisters are being sued in federal court for trademark infringement for use of the mark KHROMA.

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Continue Reading Kardashians’ Embroiled In Trademark Disputes Over KHROMA

By Scott Pink, David Kramer and Carissa Bouwer

Touting a product as environmentally friendly has become increasingly important to companies seeking to differentiate their products and appeal to consumers’ desires to protect the environment. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has long been concerned that many companies engage in “greenwashing” in which they overstate or mislead the public about the environmental benefits of their products. In response to these concerns, the FTC issued its first set of “Green Guides” in 1992 to provide guidance to marketers in making true and non-deceptive claims. These Green Guides were updated twice in the 1990s, but have remained unchanged for over a decade.

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Continue Reading FTC Issues Revised Green Guides To Prevent Misleading Environmental Claims

This past weekend, over 200 DLA Piper attorneys traveled to Schaumburg, Illinois for the Intellectual Property & Technology (IPT) Practice Group Conference (“Conference”). The Conference’s theme was “Celebration and Commitment.” This three-day event focused on

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Continue Reading DLA Piper Gathers in Schaumburg for IPT Retreat

Media outlets have been buzzing over the purported denial of Beyonce and Jay-Z’s BLUE IVY CARTER trademark.  On October 16, 2012, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) granted a federal registration to Veronica Morales, a Boston-based wedding planner, for the trademark BLUE IVY (U.S. Registration No. 4224833) covering event planning services. Morales, who claims use of the BLUE IVY trademark since 2009, obtained her federal registration before Beyonce and Jay-Z despite filing her federal application one month later.  A number of reporters incorrectly state that Morales’ BLUE IVY registration has derailed any opportunity for Beyonce and Jay-Z to secure rights to, let alone a federal registration for, their BLUE IVY CARTER trademark. Of course, such an assertion demonstrates a clear misunderstanding of the highly specialized and nuanced area of trademark law.

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Continue Reading Beyonce and Jay-Z’s “Blue Ivy Carter” Trademark Still Has Chance

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One of the packed meetings at the United States-China Adjudication Conference was the trademark breakout session, conducted for the most part in Chinese, with simultaneous translations. Several high-ranking judges in the IPR Tribunal spoke on trademark developments. From a U.S. perspective, there is a keen interest in the protection of well known trademarks either registered or unregistered in China. 

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Continue Reading Trademark Breakout Session on Enforcing Rights in China

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Beijing Friendship Hotel, along with Beijing’s Renmin University of China, hosted the United States-China Intellectual Property Adjudication Conference. Ann Ford (Washington, DC), along with other DLA Piper partners including Yan Zhao (Shanghai), Ed Chatterton (Hong

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Continue Reading Beijing Friendship Hotel & Renmin University of China Host US-China IP Adjudication Conference

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A group of us from our DLA Piper IPT group around the world, including those from Hong Kong, San Diego and Washington, DC are in Beijing, China attending the United States-China Intellectual Property Adjudication

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Continue Reading DLA Piper attends the United States-China Intellectual Property Adjudication Conference